After Paynes tragic death on Oct. 16 from falling off his balcony under the influence of drugs, his former band members shared their kind words and the positive impact he had on their lives. 

“Liam was in my opinion the most vital part of One Direction. His experience from a young age, his perfect pitch, his stage presence, his gift for writing. The list goes on,” Louis Tomlinson, a member of One Direction, sums up his feelings about Liam Payne on a memorial instagram post. 

Tomlinson continued by saying, “A message to you Liam if you’re listening, I feel beyond lucky to have had you in my life but I’m really struggling with the idea of saying goodbye.” 

Zayn Malik also posted saying, “When it came to music, Liam, you were the most qualified in every sense. I knew nothing in comparison, I was a novice child with no experience and you were a professional.” 

Harry Styles’ instagram post had stated, “His greatest joy was making other people happy, and it was an honor to be alongside him as he did it. Liam lived wide open, with his heart on his sleeve, he had an energy for life that was infectious. He was warm, supportive, and incredibly loving.” 

Niall Horan was the last member of the former boy band to see Payne alive after Payne had visited Horans concert at the Movistar Arena in Buenos Aires. 

“Liam had an energy for life and a passion for work that was infectious. He was the brightest in every room and always made everyone feel happy and secure,” Horan’s memorial post said, it had gone on to say how grateful he was that he got to see him before he passed. 

Many more celebrities posted about their grief about Payne passing, such as James Corden, Quavo, Kate Cassidy (Payne’s girlfriend) and the X factor where the members of One Direction were discovered and the band was formed. 

Even after Payne’s death, however, some people have said he was still a bad person for his drug use and some of the things he said. That has taken a toll on his ex-wife Cheryl Cole and his family. 

“As I try to navigate this earth shattering event, and work through my own grief at this indescribably painful time, I’d like to kindly remind everyone that we have lost a human being,” Cole writes on her own memorial post for her son’s father. She continues to talk about how hard it has been hearing things people have been posting and saying to her and the former One Direction members. 

Payne first got his start on the X factor in 2010 where he applied as a solo artist. Simon Cowell and Nicole Scherzinger,  judges on the X factor, grouped Payne, Horan, Styles, Malik and Tomlinson together where they progressed to the finals before being eliminated in third place. 

Soon after, the group’s debut single, “What Makes You Beautiful,” came out and they quickly became extremely popular. 

However, on March 25, 2015, Malik announced he was leaving the band and the group agreed to split up. 

The members went on to become popular solo artists and in 2021 Payne appeared on the “Diary of a CEO” podcast. 

That was when he first confessed to using drugs. 

Payne claimed that the band was the main reason he started using. 

“In the band the best way to secure us, because of how big we’d got, was just to lock us in our rooms. What’s in the room? A mini-bar. So at a certain point I thought, ‘I’m just going to have a party-for-one’ and that seemed to carry on for many years of my life. The day the band ended, I was like, ‘Thank the Lord.’ I know a lot of people are going to be mad at me for saying that, but I needed to stop or it would kill me.”

On July 9, 2023, Payne posted a video on youtube updating his fans and saying he had completed a 100 day rehabilitation program. He mentioned he was trying to be a better father to his son Bear, and he didn’t “need those things anymore”.

“I had become someone I didn’t recognize, and I’m sure you didn’t either,” Payne said in the video. 

He was seemingly fine until Oct 6, 2024 when he fatally fell off a balcony in Buenos Aires. 

There was a 911 call several minutes before his death from the hotel staff saying they were worried about Payne. Toxicology reports say he was under the influence of several drugs including pink cocaine and more, and several witnesses had claimed he jumped. 

After Payne’s death, several more stories about stress on teenage stars and drug problems have come out. 

“There were points where it was toxic and difficult. Don’t get me wrong, we had the best time ever, but you don’t realize you have a choice at that point,” Payne said. 

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